What is burning deep inside of you? If you could spread your personal message RIGHT NOW to 1 million people, what would you say?

[Let’s see…a million people….I would tell everyone to click on my ads….Wait, just kidding. . . Dear Google, I was only trying to be funny. . . It was a joke! Don’t banish me! Aaaaagggghhhh!]

The real message: Just because someone tells you it’s true, doesn’t mean it is. Be skeptical when you talk to people who are completely convinced, without any doubts, that they have the right answers—even if you agree with them. There is a lot more gray in this world than many are willing to admit.

Never lose your ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. You might find that your adversary has a good point, if you are willing to actually listen to what he or she is saying.

It is easy to fall into the trap thinking that our viewpoints are the only correct ones. We can choose our own sources of information, surround ourselves by people who think the same way we do and stay within our safe bubble of friends. This creates a feedback loop that reinforces our own beliefs, shrinks our perspective of the world and, intentionally or not, makes us more selfish.

The world is becoming more segregated, socially and economically, which is not good. There are fewer and fewer places where people from all economic and social levels interact with one another. Over time, this makes it less likely we will be willing to help each other out when it is necessary, something that is showing up in the current political climate.

The point I want to make ties in with my post from Day 5 of this challenge, when I wrote how traveling reminds us how big the world is and how small we really are. This is a lesson that we all need to be reminded of from time to time. It is easy to overestimate our own importance in this world.

While we are unique, we are not without flaws. We do not need to throw away our own points of view or focus solely on our shortcomings. However, we do need to relax our grip on our own personal and political ideologies so that we can work with those who do not see things the same way we do. If we are unable to do so, our society is headed for a train wreck. I do not want to be on that train, and neither will you.